


Fisherman's Knot

by crimsonherbarium



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Banter, Canon Compliant, Ficlet, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Takes a Bath, Hair Braiding, Hair Brushing, Jaskier braids Geralt's hair, M/M, Short One Shot, geralt complains. a lot, i wrote it with geralt/jaskier in mind but it can be read platonically, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22821142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonherbarium/pseuds/crimsonherbarium
Summary: Jaskier braids Geralt's hair.Geralt complains. A lot.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 25
Kudos: 308
Collections: Best Geralt, Discord Community Archive





	Fisherman's Knot

_”Ouch.”_

“Would you hold still?”

“Would you _stop yanking?”_ Geralt growled back.

“Typical,” Jaskier muttered, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Arachas takes a chunk out of your leg, you don’t even flinch. But gods forbid someone tries to brush your hair—”

“Didn’t need brushing.” Geralt folded his arms.

“No, please,” Jaskier continued, tugging a strand much more firmly than was necessary. “Do tell me how easy it is to wash all the blood and muck and slime out of it when it’s got more knots in it than a fisherman’s net.”

“I don’t enjoy this, Jaskier.”

“And I don’t enjoy eating stale hardtack or sleeping in the mud, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices.” 

Geralt sighed and sank lower into the bath water, which was going cold much faster than he would have liked, as Jaskier continued to work the brush through the back of his wet hair. The teeth eventually hit a snag and Geralt hissed.

“Jaskier—”

“Don’t get your petticoats in a bunch.” Jaskier sighed, setting the brush down. “That’s the worst of it done, at least.”

“Mm.” Free at last. Geralt closed his eyes and attempted to enjoy what little time remained of a pleasant bath.

Liquid sloshed in a glass bottle behind him as Jaskier took a swig of the spirit he’d traded some meat for in the last town. He slammed the bottle back down almost immediately, coughing and sputtering, his face bright red. 

“Gods above, what _is_ this?”

“Homemade vodka. The locals like it strong.”

_”Strong? _Geralt, that stuff could strip the finish off a lute.”__

__Geralt shrugged. “Tastes fine to me.”_ _

__“Easy for you to say. You’re built to survive poison.” Jaskier wiped his mouth on his sleeve and coughed again._ _

__“If you don’t like it, you can buy something else.”_ _

__“Need some coin lining my pockets to do that,” Jaskier said woefully. “Speaking of which—we’re only a few days’ ride from Vizima. There should be work there for both of us.”_ _

__“I’m not exactly welcome in Vizima.”_ _

__“You’re not exactly welcome anywhere.”_ _

__“Mm.” Geralt shot him a glance. “Weren’t you supposed to be helping me with my so-called image problem?”_ _

__“Bit hard to do, when you keep shooting down everything I write.”_ _

__“Doesn’t stop you from singing it to everyone who’ll listen.”_ _

__Jaskier grinned. “What kind of artist would I be if I didn’t?”_ _

__His fingers combed through Geralt’s hair again. Geralt bristled._ _

__“Jaskier—”_ _

__“Relax. I said I was done brushing it.”_ _

__“Then what _are_ you doing?”_ _

__“Plaiting it,” Jaskier said matter-of-factly, separating out a few strands and weaving them over each other._ _

__”Why the fuck would you want to do that?”_ _

__Jaskier let out a long-suffering sigh. “Because it keeps it from getting tangled, and I’m sick of hearing you bellyache about it. It’s either this, or I brush it every night.”_ _

__Geralt groaned. “Fine.”_ _

__Jaskier hummed to himself softly as he worked. Geralt had already forgotten what this particular ballad was supposed to be about—a maiden falling in love with a monster? Or maybe a battle?_ _

__It was a nice tune, regardless, though he never would have told Jaskier that. He closed his eyes and sighed._ _

__Jaskier tied Geralt’s hair with a piece of leather cord as he finished humming his tune and then stepped back to admire his work. “There. Much better.”_ _

__Geralt grunted. He reached up and felt the braid with wet hands. It did feel pretty secure. If nothing else, it would probably keep his hair out of his face if he had to fight._ _

__“Thanks,” he said begrudgingly._ _

__Jaskier made a sweeping bow. “I take pride in my work.”_ _

__Geralt felt blindly for the liquor bottle. “Where’d you learn to do that, anyway?”_ _

__“Oh! Well, you see, I was deep in the throes of passion with one of my paramours—”_ _

__Geralt groaned. “On second thought, I don’t want to know.”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> The Netflix series was everything I wanted and more :D I especially loved Joey Batey's portrayal of Jaskier. He's a character I was indifferent about when I read the books and outright annoyed by in the games, but now I love him with every bit of my soul. 
> 
> I wanted to write something short with the two of them, so here we are! I hope you liked it. Please consider leaving me a comment if you did :)


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